Construction on the Sagrada Família is progressing bullishly. The builders of the Barcelona temple designed by Antoni Gaudí plan to end 2022 with two new towers completed, those dedicated to the evangelists Luke and Mark, so that by year's end, eleven of the eighteen towers that the basilica will eventually have will be complete. For the moment, this Monday saw the completion of the Luke tower, once the enormous bull's head that symbolizes this evangelist was hoisted into place, a few days after its wings were also lifted skywards - yes, you read that right: the tower symbolising the evangelist Luke has a bull's head and angel's wings, which reach to 135 metres above street level. Next on the schedule is the tower of Mark, expected to be completed before December 16th, when both of the new towers are scheduled to be lit up for the first time.
This Monday morning, the Luke tower was completed, despite the fact that due to scaffolding it is not fully visible from the street - in fact, to capture the singularity of the piece that tops off the tower, you will have to wait until the scaffolding is dismantled and, even so, the view will be more favourable from a certain distance away than from the very perimeter of the temple. With the wings, nine metres in height, put in place at the beginning of November, the large crane raised the large gospel book sculpture, naturally positioned in front of and slightly below the bull's head, and then the headpiece itself, which is 4.5 metres high.
La torre de l’Evangelista Lluc ja està acabada amb l’escultura de la figura del tetramorf en forma de bou alat amb un llibre, símbol identificatiu d’aquest evangelista. Aquesta és la primera de les dues torres dels Evangelistes previstes per acabar aquest any 2022 pic.twitter.com/kSvRGVZwrg
— La Sagrada Família (@sagradafamilia) November 14, 2022
Once it had reached its correct height, a precise manoeuvre was carried out to edge the bull's head into position, thus completing the tower, which faces north - that is, roughly in the direction of the Avinguda Gaudí. In fact, visitors to the towers of the Nativity facade on the north-east (or Besòs) side had a privileged view of the entire operation. The Sagrada Família informs that the sculptures are made of Thassos marble, a white material used since ancient times for Greek and Roman sculptures. The gospel book that accompanies each sculpture is made of the same material and incorporates the corresponding initials of each evangelist made of trencadís in different shades of red.
The Saint Mark lion, before December 16th
In the coming days, the construction team will turn its focus to the tower of the evangelist Mark, with the placement, first, of the wings, then later, of the book and the head-piece, in this case, of a lion. Between November and December, the scaffolding of the two towers will be progressively removed, and the tops of the towers will be exposed. It is planned that the two towers will be illuminated for the first time on December 16th, at the start of the traditional Christmas Concert of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.
VIDEO BELOW: the operation to install the wings at the top of the Luke tower, earlier this November.
What remains to be done to complete the Sagrada Família?
In 2023, it is planned that the other two towers of the evangelists, those of Matthew and John, will also be finished, and work will also continue on the tallest tower of all, that of Jesus, to raise it from the current 126 metres to 144 metres. However, there will still be several years of work to complete the temple, which does not have a fixed date on the calendar and could extend beyond 2030. The four-armed cross 17 metres high that will crown the tower of Jesus should be completed in 2026. Other actions will include the restoration of the Nativity facade, the oldest part of the Sagrada Família, as well as the chapel of the Assumption, which is located on the facade of the apse on Carrer Provença, the inland facing side of the temple. Completion of other parts of the basilica will still be left to complete: such as the final coverings over the lateral and central parts of the nave, and on the seaward side, the entire Glory facade, with the four complete towers, the Baptistery, the Penitence chapel, and the controversial accesses which may force demolition of many residents' homes; and the Sacristy, which will be left till the end.